We encounter red tape in just about every transaction we undertake. It’s burdensome, annoying, and always a waste of our precious time.
Red tape is a scourge, and it should be eradicated.
But we don’t and we won’t get rid of it because not only do we resign ourselves to it, we accept it as an instrument organisations use for whatever purposes their leaders have in mind.
Red tape represents the complicated & often inconvenient regulations, procedures, & requirements many organisations impose to anyone doing business with them. Even though the term may have originated sometime during the medieval ages, red tape has been with us since the dawn of civilisation.
Historians attribute the phrase, red tape, to the tape or string that tied together government documents in the 16th century. Red-taped bundles of documents would be presented to European monarchs for them to read and decide on issues. The expression, “cutting through the red tape,” meant the unbundling of the said documents.
We experience red tape in government and private organisations.
For example, in the Philippines:
- It may take up to six (6) months to secure a permit to construct a building because applicants not only are required to submit numerous documents to be submitted but also would wait for weeks for city hall officials to review & approve applications.
- Buying and operating a diesel generator requires permits from at least three (3) different government agencies, which also are subject to renewal & inspection every calendar year.
- Every corporation in the Philippines must submit financial statements separately and under different formats & guidelines to the country’s tax authority (Bureau of Internal Revenue[BIR]) and Securities & Exchange Commission.
- Philippine citizens are subjected to lengthy procedures and expensive fees in applying for visas to enter foreign countries.
- Private business employees enrol in several agencies when they are hired for the first time. They need identification (ID) numbers & cards from the Social Security System, for Philippine Health Insurance (PHIC), for Home Development Mutual Fund (to avail of housing loans), and from the BIR.
These red tape examples contrasts with Philippine government leaders’ calls for more investments and business entrepreneurships, and discourages direct foreign investments from enterprises from other nations.
Red tape, however, can be deliberate means to discourage individuals.
For instance, owning and registering firearms in the Philippines requires a very cumbersome application process with the Philippine National Police (PNP). Carrying guns is not the same as possessing one, as per PNP regulations. Each requires separate applications and permits, in which each, respectively, is complicated to comply with.
Organisations try to reduce red tape in welcoming or serving customers. For instances:
- Banks offer pre-approved credit cards to selected clients to woo them away from competitors.
- Local governments set sup “one-stop-shops” in which new businesses can apply and secure permits from different agencies from just one designated place, instead of having to go to different offices or sites.
- Airports set up automated self-service kiosks which allow select passengers to check-in without having to wait in line.
Ideally, there should be little, if no, red tape in the transactions we do daily. Unfortunately, for various reasons (most of which are silly or illogical), governments & organisations subject us ordinary people to the complexities and inconveniences of red tape bureaucracy.
We resign to it, but we shouldn’t stop seeking to reduce, if not eliminate it.
Red tape via the time we waste and the resources we spend impedes our productivity. The less red tape, the more productive we can be.
And we could use all the productivity we can get in this competitive world we work in.
Ellery's Essays 
